When navigating roads that are shared with other vehicles such as cars and trucks, safety is of paramount concern. Pedestrians typically travel against the flow of traffic so as to see and avoid oncoming traffic. In most localities, however, bicycles are required to not only share the road with vehicles, but are also treated as vehicles themselves, and are required to travel with the existing traffic flow. Despite this, bicycles commonly travel at speeds much slower than motorized vehicles, and so can present obstacles to motorists. As a result, it is common for bicycles to be passed by cars while on the road, and unless the cyclist has a rear view mirror and/or astute hearing, the cyclist may not be aware of the vehicle's presence until the vehicle is upon the cyclist. Likewise, the vehicle driver, depending upon their speed and ambient lighting conditions, may have difficulty seeing an upcoming bicycle until almost upon the bicycle, with minimal time to avoid a collision. Because bicycles have substantially less mass than even a small motor vehicle, and the cyclist has minimal impact protection, a cyclist's safety while in the presence of other, faster motor vehicles can be imperiled. Devices that can help improve a cyclist's situational awareness and improve visibility to other vehicles can offer improved safety to cyclists.
Known bicycle safety systems are not entirely satisfactory for the range of applications in which they are employed. For example, existing systems, such as a mirror or series of mirrors, rely upon the cyclist to maintain situational awareness, and do not improve visibility of the bicycle for oncoming vehicles. Some vehicles include detection mechanisms that alert drivers to the presence of bicycles and other obstructions that the vehicle is approaching. However, such systems are not universal, and so protect cyclists only from vehicles equipped with such detection systems. Older and/or less sophisticated vehicles that lack detection systems still pose a risk to cyclists. Still other systems may provide a visual cue of a zone for a bicycle, to give a driver some measure of how much distance to keep their vehicle from a bicycle. Such systems may not provide active detection of approaching vehicles, and for an inattentive driver, such systems may not actively and effectively inform the driver of when they have approached too close to the bicycle and into the bicycle zone, thus posing an increasing risk to the cyclist.
U.K. Patent Application No. GB 2497911 A is directed to a bicycle safety device that includes a vehicle detection means, projection means for projecting a boundary line around the bicycle onto the road surface, and an alert means to alert the motor vehicle driver and cyclist of the vehicle presence. The projected boundary line can be static, or can consist of changing lights. The alert means contemplated includes a horn or audio warning to the vehicle driver to alert them of the presence of the bicycle. However, audio alerts may not always be effective, as a vehicle driver may have deficient hearing, the vehicle may be too well sound-proofed, or the driver may have music turned up too loud to clearly hear the audio alert.
PCT Application No. WO 2011/137477 A1 is directed to a cyclist proximity warning system that includes a transmitter on the bicycle, and a corresponding receiver in the vehicle. Once the bicycle gets within a predetermined range of the vehicle, the receiver in the vehicle alerts the driver to the presence of the bicycle.
United States Patent Application No. US 2016/0023703 A1 is directed to a safety device for alerting motor vehicle drivers of a proximity of a bicyclist, and includes a device that mounts to a bicycle and provides one or more lights that are visible to approaching vehicles. The safety device may additionally project lights upon ground proximate to the bicycle.
U.S. Pat. No. 8,325,027 is directed to a safety light apparatus that projects light images resembling the boundaries of a bike lane. The apparatus can be mounted on the seat tube of a bicycle, and projects the lane lines to either side of and trailing behind the bicycle. A stabilizer can reduce movements of the projected lane boundaries. The apparatus may also project a bike lane icon behind the bicycle within the projected lane lines.
PCT Application No. WO 2014/204525 A3 is directed to methods and systems for cyclist monitoring and crash prevention. The application discloses using a sensor to create a virtual smart lane around bicycle. The sensor also is capable of detecting approaching objects and alerting the bicycle rider.
Thus, there exists a need for bicycle safety systems that improve upon and advance the design of known bicycle safety systems. Examples of new and useful bicycle safety systems relevant to the needs existing in the field are discussed below.